2x2 - Webb Family

September 23, 2005

Arthur and Cathy Webb are a dual-career couple who are juggling the demands of work, children and, most of all, sleep. They have three children - Josef, 6, Paige, 5 -- who has Down Syndrome -- and Madison, 2-1/2. With Dad away all week for his job as a management consultant, Mom is left to handle the three children alone. She has no structure to the evenings, rarely eats with the kids, and finds each night draining. Mom feels so guilty about leaving daughter Madison with a babysitter during the day that she allows the toddler to cling to her constantly. She cooks and cleans with one hand, holding Madison the entire time. Because of Paige's Down Syndrome, Josef refuses to play with her and calls her names. Bedtime is a joke. Often, Mom falls asleep before the kids, around midnight, and the kids all sleep in Mom's bed. Dad spends the entire weekend either sleeping or running nonstop errands, considering the latter his "family time." Mom is at her wits' end and wants Supernanny's help.